Taekwondo world champion Abdoul Razak Alfaga inspires millions of Nigeriens

Abdoul Razak Alfaga is a taekwondo world champion and Olympic silver medalist of Nigerien heritage.

Growing up, Abdoul had to hide his passion for the sport from his disapproving mother and practiced in secret. We didn’t even have this kind of floor where we used to train,” he says, “So it shows that no matter what the conditions are where you train, tomorrow you can become like Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.”

The sports star, aged 26, is an idol in Niger who has brought the sport taekwondo back home to teach and inspire the next generation of athletes in his country. He states “my mission is to inspire the next generation to become a champion because before we didn’t believe that a Nigerian could become a world champion and an Olympic medalist.”

He is aiming for Gold in the Tokyo Olympics and to become Niger’s first Olympic gold champion.